hello, I came across this book on Amazon while looking up a lot of the early fathers writings... I was curious if any orthodox have any ideas imput perspectives on the book or any thoughts about what it has to say? Thanks!

Since you are looking for an Orthodox perspective, and not a Catholic perspective -- perhaps this is the improper board? "Orthodox-Catholic Discussion"..

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Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith; Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the catholic faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity

Hi Seafra - I have been wondering the same thing recently: What (if any) are the Orthodox principles of discernment equivalent to St. Ignatius of Loyola - has any EO Saint written anything comparable?

There is a huge amount of light to be gained by practicing St Ignatius of Loyola's rules for discernment, and especially his Examen prayer practice. However, I find myself a little uneasy with the 8 rules "of the 2nd week" since ALL "consolation without preceding cause" is from God. But if you read "The Arena" by Ignatius Bryanchaninov, you will see that there are monks who are deceived by this very type of thing in regard to Angels. Therefore in my OE vs RC reading comparisons, there does seem to be a conflict of some sort. I am totally open to other viewpoints though, because I might be missing something obvious on the 2nd set of 8 rules for discernment. Again, this is my initial observation, not a whole lot of in depth reflection.

is there anything comparable in orthodoxy? i bet heychasim is similar but how about OO side?

A good place to start (that's available in English) would be Spiritual Warfare by St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain. This is actually a translation/revision of an RC text done by a Father who was intimately familiar with the Orthodox tradition of prayer (St. Nicodemus was also the compiler of the Philokalia, one of the most definitive compiliations of the writings of the early desert Fathers on the spiritual life--but Spiritual Warfare is much more of a beginner's text). The forward of the English translation does a decent job of pointing out where St. Nicodemus revised the original text and what it shows about the difference between the Ignatian tradition in the West and the Eastern tradition.

For it were better to suffer everything, rather than divide the Church of God. Even martyrdom for the sake of preventing division would not be less glorious than for refusing to worship idols. - St. Dionysius the Great

It has been about a year since I've read this. Perhaps it is time to re-read it - I might have missed what you are referring to. Thanks for the suggestion. Are you thinking of anything specific in that book or is it more of a general idea/recommendation?

It has been about a year since I've read this. Perhaps it is time to re-read it - I might have missed what you are referring to. Thanks for the suggestion. Are you thinking of anything specific in that book or is it more of a general idea/recommendation? ]

Yep. That's what I get for typing from memory at work. It was a two-part recommendation--first as a basic but classic introduction available in English to prayer from an Orthodox perspective (I realize seafra specified OO, but the Philokalia, which underlies all St. Nicholas' other work is full of shared saints). And second because I recall the forward doing a nice job of discussing the differences between Eastern and Western traditions in its discussion of St. Nicholas' revisions.

For it were better to suffer everything, rather than divide the Church of God. Even martyrdom for the sake of preventing division would not be less glorious than for refusing to worship idols. - St. Dionysius the Great

hey guys, thanks for the posts! Mags I never really pursued it much more. I know there are some Orthodox saints that have been found to quote from writings like this and there are also that strongly condemn so i figured i would leave it be :-D

the oriental orthodox churches teach, quite 'simply' that a high spiritual state is reached through prayer, fasting, the sacraments and living a holy life. so there you go, just pray continually, always partake of the sacraments and attend church, fast regularly for a number of years, flee from all evil in your thoughts and deeds, develop a close relationship with God and you're sorted.simple!

this is one extract from an english translation of the arabic version of homily 17 of saint macarius ('macarius the great' who lived in 300s):Like open eyes which can clearly see the sun, also the mind that has been fully sanctified can clearly see the glory of Christ and unite with Him, day and night, in the same manner of the unity of the Body of Christ with the Holy Spirit. People do not reach those levels in a moment but only with much labour, temptation and struggle.

so we allow for the individual guidance of one's priest / spiritual adviser on the practical details of how to get there. eg. for the 'rich young man' in the gospel, there was a need for him to give away all his riches, the woman caught in adultery had to 'go and sin no more' etc.

may God guide u in your search, and pray for me too, a fellow traveller.